The assimilation of problematic experiences through narratives: A case study.

Abstract

In this study we aim to describe the assimilation process through our participant narratives, Mónica, who had oncological problems and to explore the advantages of the use of narratives for assimilating these experiences.

Mónica wrote 31 narratives during 8 months about her experiences of having fibroadenomas and benign tumors. These narratives were analized by the assimilation model and the Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale or APES.

The procedure to obtain the data ended with a sample of  373 passages that were analized with APES. Those passages were related to eight different topics and their corresponding dominant and non-dominant voices, from their problematic experiences.

Results showed that Mónica reached high levels of assimilation in seven of her eight problematic experiences. Despite this assimilation, data showed remarkable setbacks, in other words, a return from a higher to a lower stage of the APES.